Portable electronic devices (e.g., mobile telephones, sometimes called mobile phones, cell phones, cellular telephones, and the like) often support a variety of applications such as telephone, email, instant messaging (IM), digital camera, web browsing, etc.
Frequently, a user may prefer to start a new application without terminating or suspending an existing application. For example, if the user is having a phone call with another person, the user may need to check a city's weather forecast and then inform the other person of the weather forecast on the phone. Sometimes, the user may like to respond to an incoming IM message while chatting with the other person on the phone at the same time.
But this multitasking feature on the same portable device has not been well supported by existing products. Currently, a cell phone user has to suspend or even terminate the phone call in order to activate another application on the same device. This restriction is especially inconvenient if the purpose of invoking the other application relates to the ongoing phone call.
Accordingly, there is a need for a portable multifunction device that allows a user to start another application while the user is continuing a phone call.